Beriadans Mana Variant (3.5e Variant Rule)

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Spells per day. That always struck me as odd, and I never liked the concept. This is a variant system where just about everyone has mana, though only those with training are capable of using it. So like Paladins and Ranger start out with a very small amount of mana for the use of some of there abilities, but they still can't cast spells until fourth level. First off, I'll explain how much mana each spell costs. 0 and 1st level spells cost 1 mana, 2nd 3, 3rd 5, 4th 7, 5th 9, 6th 11, 7th 13, 8th 15, and 9th costs 17. Higher level spells cost mana in the same way. Now to determine your total mana, do the following:

Add up your classes spells per day, this is your base mana.

On the chart below, find your ability score for spellcasting and then add all the bonus you get up to that level. (so a 14 would get you 1 on first, 1 on 2nd (2 total), +1 on 3rd, +1 on 4th, +1 on 5th, ect.)

So a 1st level wizard with a 20 Intelligence would have 7 mana (3 +1 +3), and next level he would have 12 mana (4 +2 +3 +3). Increasing your ability modifier increases your mana gain retro actively. On 12th level if you raise your score from 19 to 20, you would gain 8 mana.